Introduction to Desired Results

Desired Results is a system by which educators can document the progress made by children and families in achieving desired results.

Description

The California Department
of Education (CDE), Early Education and Support Division, has revised its
approach to evaluating the child care and development services
it provides. The Department is moving away from a process-oriented
compliance model and toward a focus on the results desired from
the child care and development system. The new approach is compatible
with CDE's accountability system for elementary and secondary
education. It is intended to improve the results achieved for
children and families through the child development services provided
by CDE. Desired Results for Children and Families is a system
by which educators can document the progress made by children
and families in achieving desired results and by which they can
retrieve information to help practitioners improve child care
and development services.

A desired result is defined as a condition of well-being
for children and families (e.g., children are personally and socially
competent). Desired results reflect the positive effects of the
child development system on the development and functioning of
children and on the self-sufficiency and functioning of families.
The desired results system is designed to do the following things:

Identify the measures that demonstrate the achievement of
desired results across the development areas for children from
birth to age 13 in child care and development programs.

Provide information that reflects the contributions made by
each of the various types of CDE-funded child development programs.

Hold programs accountable to program standards that support
the achievement of desired results and are used to measure program
quality.

Provide a data-collection mechanism for evaluating the quality
of individual child development programs.

Create a base of information on the relationships between
processes and results that can be used to target technical assistance
to improve practice in all child development programs.

At the state level, educators use the desired results system
to identify successes and areas for improvement so that CDE can
provide support and technical assistance to increase program quality.
At the program level, practitioners use the desired results system
to determine the extent to which children and families are achieving
the desired results so that quality improvement activities may
be effectively targeted to directly benefit program participants.
The desired results system encourages differences in the structure
and objectives of individual child development programs. It is
culturally sensitive and linguistically responsive to the diverse
populations of children and families served.

The primary objective of CDE's desired results system is to encourage
child development programs' progress toward the achievement of
desired results by providing information and technical assistance
to improve program quality. The desired results system has been
built on existing processes and procedures and emphasizes the
coordination of programs and services to support the continuum
of children's developmental progress from birth to 13 years of
age.

The desired results system is also being coordinated with a concurrent
project, Desired Results: Access for Children with Disabilities
Project (DR Access). The DR Access project is funded through the
California Department of Education, Special Education Division,
and is being conducted by Sonoma State University, California
Institute on Human Services (CIHS). The DR Access project coordinates
with the desired results system in two ways. First, DR Access
staff members worked with CDE staff members and CDE's contractors
during the development of the desired results system to make the
Desired Results Developmental Profile as inclusive and appropriate
as possible for the assessment of progress for young children
with disabilities. Second, DR Access staff members have also developed
a system of adaptations and guidelines for the Desired Results
Developmental Profile that allows practitioners to assess children
with disabilities in an appropriate manner within the structure
of the desired results system.

Through these two approaches, DR Access staff members ensured
that the desired results system was based on the needs of young
children with disabilities and was applicable to all settings
in which children with disabilities and their families were served.
The vision that is held by the contributors to desired results
and DR Access is that through collaboration, a continuity of outcomes
will be achieved for all children in CDE programs.

The training and implementation phase of desired results for
center-based programs and family child care home networks is being
carried out in a series of regional training sessions for local
program administrators. Assisted by CIHS, CDE is providing a comprehensive
training designed to facilitate implementation of the desired
results system in programs at the local level and to build the
capacity of local programs to train staff members who work directly
with children. Participation in the trainings is by invitation
only, and sites are selected one year before are due for a Coordinated
Compliance Review or Contract Monitoring Review.

Components of Desired Results
System

The six basic components of the desired results system are desired
results, indicators, themes, measures, criteria for success, and
measurement tools. The six desired results, to which all CDE-funded
child care and development programs are expected to contribute,
are listed below.

Children are personally and socially competent.

Children are effective learners.

Children show physical and motor competence.

Children are safe and healthy.

Families support their children's learning and development.

Families achieve their goals.

Desired results for children encompass the four developmental
domains (i.e., cognitive, social-emotional, language, and physical
development), which are reflected and integrated throughout the
indicators, the measures, and the examples of the measures.

An indicator defines a desired result more specifically
so that it can be measured. For example, an indicator of the desired
result "children are personally and socially competent" is that
"children show self-awareness and a positive self-concept." Desired
results are generally better measured by using multiple indicators;
no one indicator gives full information on all aspects of achievement.

A theme describes the aspect of development that is
being measured for each indicator (e.g., self-awareness: dependence
and interdependence, understanding that one's self is a separate
being with an identity of its own and with connectedness to others).

A measure quantifies achievement of a particular indicator
and developmental theme (e.g., a preschooler can communicate easily
with familiar adults).

The criteria for success define the acceptable level
of achievement for each indicator (e.g., individual children show
developmental progress).

A measurement tool is the actual instrument or procedure
used to capture or track information on indicators and standards
of achievement (e.g., the Desired Results Developmental Profile).

Related Content

Desired Results Reference Materials and Forms - This selection of Desired Results assessment materials and forms is a comprehensive program evaluation system designed to measure California Department of Education funded child development contractor effectiveness.